From Me to You
by xziv07
Summary: A collection of ficlets of kisses, and the meanings behind each one based on where they were placed. Ratings may vary depending on the chapter. Cross-posted on AO3.


I recently found out the names of Saya's parents so I'm gonna start using them when applicable now lol.

* * *

The bell above the entrance jingled cheerfully as Tomoe stepped inside. Almost immediately, a warm voice called out to her from the register counter. "Ah, Tomoe-chan!" Saya's mother, Chihiro, said as she set aside a small, brown paper bag stuffed to the brim of various bread and pastries. "Welcome! Are you looking for Saya-chan?"

Tomoe gave a short wave, accompanied by a toothy grin. Right as she opened her mouth to greet the older woman, Tomoe spied two much smaller figures popping out from behind the counter. In a flash, Sana and Jun darted in Tomoe's direction, barely giving the drummer enough time to brace herself for the impact as the two collided into her stomach.

"Tomo-nee!" Jun and Sana squealed as their small hands wrapped around Tomoe's side.

"Hey there, kiddos! How are you two doin'?" Tomoe placed on her hands atop their heads to playfully ruffle their hair, chuckling in amusement at their enthusiasm. Then she looked back at Chihiro, "And, hey, auntie! Good afternoon! And, uh, yeah! I was looking for Saya."

Chihiro's eyes crinkled fondly at the sight. "My, those two have really gotten quite attached to you, huh Tomoe-chan?"

"That's because Tomo-nee is so cool!" Sana piped up. "Ah! Did Tomo-nee come to play with us?"

Tomoe grinned. "I actually came by to see if Saya was around. But if you two get permission from your mom, I can take y'all out to the park later. How about it?"

Jun and Sana lit up instantly like a pair of mega-watt light bulbs. They dashed back to their mom, gripping the front of her apron.

"Can we go to the park with Tomo-nee?" Jun asked excitedly.

"Can we? Please, mommy?" Sana chanted.

Chihiro smiled as she gently patted their shoulders. "Yes, you may. But only after you finish running your errands." She gestured to the brown bag sitting by the register. "Your father needs us to make a quick delivery today. Remember?"

"Oh, I can take care of that for you, if you don't mind," Tomoe offered.

Jun snatched the bag and handed it to Sana. "Don't worry, Tomo-nee! We can do it! Then we can all go out together!"

"But… at least let me walk with you then," Tomoe tried again. It didn't sit right with her if she were to let the kids go off on their own unattended.

"Oh, don't you worry about it, I'll be with them to watch them," Saya's mom said. When the clear reluctance refused to budge on Tomoe's face, Chihiro added, "It's right around the block, so we won't take very long. My husband is finishing up in the kitchen so he'll be here to watch the store while we're gone. Besides, you came to see Saya-chan, right? She went upstairs after she finished her shift earlier. You can go on up to see her while you wait," Chihiro said as they moved the front of the bakery. Jun and Sana went over to Tomoe to give her another hug.

"We'll be back soon!"

"Bye, Tomo-nee! Let's go to the park with Onee-chan later!"

Finally, Tomoe gave in. "Alright, alright. I'll be right here when you come back. Be careful and take care of your mom, okay?"

"Okaaay!" Jun and Sana chorused together before dashing back to their mom's side. Tomoe waved to the trio as they went outside.

"Okay," Tomoe breathed softly to herself. To Saya's room.

While Saya's mom did give her permission to go upstairs, it still felt a little strange for Tomoe to go by herself, almost like she was intruding. Technically, she wasn't—but it was still something that she felt awkward doing without Saya around to be the one to allow her in.

Tomoe tentatively stepped into the kitchen area and saw Saya's dad crouched next to the oven. "Ah, Uncle Wataru! Good afternoon."

Saya's dad gave her a warm smile. "Tomoe-chan! G'afternoon! You here for Saya?"

"Yessir! And Auntie just went out with Jun and Sana."

"Ah, did they?" Wataru reached into his apron pocket to pull out a kitchen timer. "Guess I'll head out to the register then. Thanks for telling me, Tomoe-chan. You're a great help. This batch will take a while longer to bake so I can spare a few minutes away from it."

On reflex, Tomoe was about to offer if there was anything that she could help out with, but Saya's dad quickly beat her to the punch, "Saya should be in her room, so you can go on ahead," he said as he moved past Tomoe, giving her a hearty pat on the back, knocking her slightly off-balance.

Tomoe let out a short bark in surprise, "Jeez, uncle! You gotta warn me before you do that."

The older man laughed. "I only do it 'cause I know you're a strong kid! Now, go on! I'll hold down the fort until my wife gets back."

Sensing that there was no room for protest, Tomoe moved towards the staircase.

Considering how frequently Tomoe came around the bakery over the years, there was no surprise that the Yamabukis were pretty comfortable with her hanging around. It also was encouraging to see how welcoming they were to not only Tomoe, but to Ako and the rest of Afterglow whenever they came in together.

Then maybe, just maybe, when Tomoe finally got to work up enough courage to ask Saya out, then it would a good sign that the Yamabuki family would be okay with her and Saya.

And if all things go well, then maybe they would be okay with giving their blessings to them when Tomoe proposed—

Tomoe abruptly cleared her throat mid-step up the stairs, feeling the tips of her ears heat up.

W-well, she was getting too ahead of herself there. One step at a time.

Tomoe paused upon reaching the door to Saya's room, left slightly ajar. She rapped her own familiar _one-two, one-two _pattern on the wood with her knuckles.

No response.

Frowning, she tried again. _One-two, one-two._

Again, no answer.

Furrowing her eyebrows in mild concern, Tomoe pushed the door open as slowly as she could. "Saya? You in here?" she said quietly, and released a breath that she didn't even realize that she was holding in when her eyes fell onto Saya's form sitting at her desk.

There was Saya, hunched over and sleeping peacefully with her head cradled in her arms.

Tomoe made her way to Saya's sleeping figure, catching a glimpse of the papers scattered under her arms.

Sheet music, and by the looks of it, Saya was probably busy transcribing parts of an unfinished song for her drums. Perhaps PoPiPa was in the middle of making some new songs to play at their next performance..?

Tomoe resolutely squashed her bubbling curiosity. Sure, there were some pretty cool drum scores in Poppin' Party's songs that she was always meaning to ask Saya to show her, but she'd rather get Saya's permission first rather pry into it.

Tomoe glanced at the time on her phone. It wasn't very long ago since Saya's mother and the kids left. And since Saya was seemingly sound asleep—Tomoe wasn't even sure if she should be the one waking her up anyway if she was tired—Tomoe could bear to give her a few more minutes...

Her hand was already reaching for the ends of Saya's hair, still neatly bundled in her ponytail. Her fingers carefully weaved into Saya's chestnut waves, gingerly running down the strands, handling it as if it was precious silk threads.

It was an indulgence that Saya occasionally spoiled Tomoe with when they were alone, only after Tomoe swallowed her embarrassment to ask for permission to touch the brunette's hair in the first place, but she was always grateful to Saya when she allowed it.

It was a strange feeling to explain, the warmth that bloomed in her chest as she stroked Saya's hair. It was just an oddly soothing gesture and it was reassuring to hear when Saya also admitted that it was just as soothing for her too.

Tomoe always liked to have her own hair grown to a particular length—Himari and Tsugu had fun styling with it when they were younger—but sometime during middle school, she made the very bold decision to cut it shorter than usual, just as a change of pace.

If Tomoe had to place a guess on when she started to have the indescribable urges to touch Saya's hair in the first place, it was probably around the same time that she cut her own crimson locks.

She remembered the startled look on Saya's face when Tomoe walked into the bakery for the first time with her new haircut.

"Tomoe! Ah, your hair!" Saya had exclaimed.

Suddenly feeling a little self-conscious, an emotion that she was unaccustomed to feeling, Tomoe's hand raised to toy with her short fringes, "Uh, yeah! I did. Thought it would look cool. It… doesn't look weird, does it?"

Saya blinked, then with a soft smile and light dusting of pink adorning her cheeks, she walked over to Tomoe. Gently, she grasped Tomoe's hand to pull it away from her bangs. "It doesn't look weird at all! I like it! It suits you, Tomoe."

"Really?"

"Yup! You look really handsome, if I do say so myself."

Tomoe felt her face flare up. "A-ah, uh, thanks! Thanks, Saya!"

"Say, can I… touch it? Your hair, I mean."

They locked eyes. It was a question that caught Tomoe off guard, half-expecting Saya to throw in a playful little tease at the end of it.

Then she flashed Saya her usual wild grins, relief washing over her when there was none. "Sure!" she chuckled and tilted her head towards the brunette.

Because if Saya said she liked it, then it had to be true.

Tomoe smiled to herself at the thought. It was a small memory. Maybe Saya didn't even remember it. But Tomoe did.

The feeling of fingers lightly scraping her scalp, the deliberate languidness of hands carding through her loose locks, the soft and airy giggles, and the undeniable warmth welling up in her chest that never seemed to have faded away.

It was a memory that Tomoe treasured, as small as it was. And hopefully the odd habit that resulted from it comforted Saya like it did for Tomoe on that day that was so far away, yet so close in their intertwined past.

Saya was always a constant in her life, in a way that was different than how Afterglow was. There were certain things that they shared in common—as older sisters, as the ones to ground their loved ones when things go awry—that allowed Tomoe to relax when they were together.

Saya stirred. Tomoe paused, only to resume the motions when a content sigh passed Saya's lips. At this rate, she might not have the heart to wake Saya up, even if she wanted to.

Silently, Tomoe leaned forward, pressing a lock of chestnut hair to her lips.

"Thanks, Saya. For everything."

Distantly, Tomoe vaguely registered the energetic milling of voices coming from downstairs and the fast-approaching footsteps coming up the stairs.

"Tomo-nee! Let's go!"

"Onee-chan, Tomo-nee! Hurry, hurry!"

Tomoe pulled away from Saya's side, hearing Sana and Jun almost at the door.

Well, it was probably better to have her siblings wake her up if Tomoe couldn't.

* * *

While I'm not normally a person for prompts and such, I was recently reminded of a Pixiv-prompt fill that I really liked. The prompts are basically about how each location of the body that someone kisses has a different meaning. And since I'm still in a TomoSaaya mood, I thought this would be a fun thing to explore. But as a side note, I spun a few of them prompts around for better context. Because, yes.


End file.
